Lay Your Hands On Me
by AlbtraumDerAngst
Summary: Every relationship experiences a series of firsts, both good and bad. These former Kiznas are no exception. Tenga/Chidori
1. First Affections

"Would you hold my hand, Tenga?"

The soft demure of Chidori's voice pulled his focus from the sidewalk in front of him to peer down at the girl walking alongside him. His eyebrow perked in surprise at her sudden question, and once their eyes met she twisted her head away as her face began to match her scarlet hair.

"I-I mean you don't _have_ to if you don't want to. It's just an open invitation, in case that's the kind of thing you'd want to do," she rambled as she struggled with her composure.

Tenga wryly grinned, waiting for her face to turn back to meet his. As it did, her expression shifted from embarrased to flustered.

"Look, you don't have to make fun of me, just forget it-," as she spoke her hand moved to shove his arm but instead his hand caught hers before it could hit its mark.

With ease his fingers slipped into place interlocked with hers,engulfing her palm with his much larger one. Chidori gasped in response to his fast reaction, and as her face returned to facing forward once more she smiled.

This would never happen with their other friends around, not even Katsuhira. At least for the moment. These feelings she was experiencing with Tenga were so new to her. Just a few weeks prior she had accepted her best friend's heart would never belong to her, and in a way she felt relief to shed that weight off of her shoulders of pining for him.

Could Tenga and herself be considered dating at this point? They spent more time alone than they ever had before, and he always walked home with her after school. He'd yet to come into her apartment however, and he'd never asked. It would seem he was leaving that decision up to her.

Periodically he gave her hand gentle squeezes, as if to assure himself this was actually reality and that it wasn't a dream. He didn't let go for even a moment their entire walk to her home, only unwillingly doing so when she needed to open her door.

"Good night Tenga, I'll see you at school tomorrow. Don't forget to do the math homework this time-," before she could step into her apartment he grabbed her hand once more and she was forced to turn around and face him again.

Calmly in one swift motion he brought her hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on the top of her knuckles. "Good night, Chidori."

Before she could get a word out Tenga turned on his heels and disappeared around the corner leaving her alone in the hallway. She was speechless, only able to stare at the hand he had just kissed. As she closed the door behind her, her face turned bright red again and her mouth twisted into a giddish grin.

"I can't believe I just did that, that was so cheesy," Tenga berated to himself as he walked towards his own home.


	2. First Date

When Tenga asked Chidori to do something with him that Saturday, at first she didn't realize he meant it _that_ way.

"Sure! It's been awhile since we've all seen each other. We could go to the mall, maybe do karaoke too," she spoke happily as she walked, swinging Tenga's hand in small arcs in between them.

"I don't mean like that, I meant just us. Together. On a date." Tenga struggled to actually say the word but he finally managed causing his cheeks to turn rosy.

"O-oh." She felt stupid now, no one had ever asked her on a date before. Chidori wasn't sure how to react in this kind of situation.

"I've been saving money from my part time job all last month, I wanted to take you to somewhere at least kind of nice," he explained.

"That's awfully sweet of you Tenga, wait, you got a job? Since when?" She'd never heard of this job of his, wondering how someone like him could keep that a secret.

"Since a month ago, you don't have to sound so surprised about it," he huffed in response. "I work at a mechanic's place on the weekends."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about it?" She wasn't irritated with him, just mildly curious of his reasoning.

"I wanted to surprise you, Chidori. A cute girl like you doesn't deserve a loser for a boyfriend, so if I hope to be that person in your life I've got to step up my game," he replied in a quieter voice.

There was a drawn out pause between them as they walked that same path they did everyday. To Tenga this pause felt like years, and he was mentally preparing himself for whatever she was going to say next.

"Yes." The single word was her solemn reply.

"Yes?" He inquired, voice on edge.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with you Saturday. I can't wait to see what you have planned." Her last sentence came out in an almost whisper, just quiet enough that only he was able to hear her.

He grinned that dopey grin she was growing to love more and more each day, a smile that was only for her and no one else

* * *

Saturday was upon them and Chidori sat nervously on her couch. Up until today she'd been giddy with excitement, but once she woke up this morning and started getting ready her nerves were betraying her. It was times like these she wished she had a girly friend to ask for opinions on clothes. Nico was the closest one she had, but she hated to bring up anything related to her relationship with Tenga to the other girl. She knew what it felt like to love someone that didn't love you back, and she had no interest in putting that in her face.

She would just have to trust her judgement this time just as she usually did. Any other time she was confident in her appearance, but in the back of her mind a thought kept nagging at her brain.

" _I hope Tenga thinks I look pretty."_ He'd told her many times before that he thought she was cute, attention that she greatly enjoyed. Why would he think differently today? Her mind was running all over the place and driving her crazy, so instead of being alone with her thoughts she decided to turn on the television and focus on that.

* * *

Tenga felt like a monkey in a suit, dress clothes were not his forte by any means. Subconsciously he tugged at the necktie around his collar hoping he'd managed to tie it correctly. He'd looked up a video on NicoNico how to do it, but who knows if it actually turned out the way it was supposed to.

Clutched in his other hand was a dozen red roses he'd just purchased at the florist, which at first he was proud of himself for thinking to do. Now he was just worried he was overdoing it trying to impress Chidori. Taking a deep breath he puffed out his chest and marched up the stairs.

He gave a rapid three knocks to her door. He gave a glance to the neighboring door, worried that someone he knew might step out of Agata's door and see him in this state. It was just a dress shirt, slacks, and a necktie but he felt very out of a character and honestly a little embarrassing. Once she opened the door he felt a bit of relief.

"Here, these are for you," he struggled to enunciate as his hand extended in front of him to present the bouquet. Chidori hadn't even the chance to say hello before being greeted with flowers in front of her.

"Oh, Tenga, they're beautiful. Come wait inside while I put them in a vase." She lifted the flowers to her nose and inhaled their sweet scent.

As she turned on her heels to rummage in her cabinets for something to put them in Tenga couldn't help but stare after her. She was in a new outfit he'd never seen before and it only managed to enhance the beauty she already possessed.

"You're the beautiful one, Chidori," he spoke without thinking. A blush erupted on her cheeks as she filled the vase with flowers.

She turned on her heels to set the full vase down on the coffee table in front of the couch. Tenga watched her carefully, startled by the silence he created.

"...and you look very handsome, Tenga," she addressed to him as she walked towards him. Finally her fingers rested on his tie and she glided the fabric between her hands.

"Your tie is just a little off, mind if I fix it?" She looked up into his eyes, and gave a tiny gasp when she noticed how close their faces were.

"Y-yeah, if you don't mind," he stuttered, "you must think it's pretty sad that a guy can't tie his own necktie huh?"

As she undid the knot she tugged it roughly which made Tenga wince. "No, Kacchon didn't start doing his own right for a while. So that left me to fix it. I guess he figured it out when… we didn't talk to each other this summer."

"Sorry."

"S-sorry."

Their eyes both locked and Chidori offered a weak smile that garnered its own in return from him. Neither wanted to ever bring up how miserable the end of their summer was, and now Tenga was worrying his date with Chidori was failing before it started.

"Well, we'd better get going if we want to make our reservation," he announced while giving his phone a quick glance.

She finished her work and stood back to admire her handiwork. Tenga looked down to see it was much better than his attempt.

"Where are we going that needs a reservation?" She inquired as she picked up her purse off the table and put it on her shoulder.

"It's a surprise, now come on the cab isn't going to wait on us forever," he spoke as he reached for her hand to drag her along out the door.

"You should have said something sooner!" She managed to reply while almost tripping.

* * *

When they arrived at the restaurant she realized that it was one of the upperscale Italian restaurants in Sugomori, and Tenga grinned upon seeing how her eyes widened. He was so pleased to be able to impress her.

Once arriving inside and being shown to their table, he pulled out all the stops and moved to pull out her chair before sitting in his own. Chidori was unused to such treatment, but fell into enjoying it rather quickly. Being underage they both just ordered glasses of water, which Tenga also appreciate because he was by no means a rich guy. It was going to take all his money to be able to afford this.

"Anything catch your eye?" He inquired to attempt conversation.

"Everything looks really impressive, though most of the menu is in Italian so I'm not really even sure what's what," she replied.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the waiter will translate for us." Nervously he tugged at his collar, not expecting to have difficulty just ordering.

"Tenga, you didn't have to do all this for me, this will cost you a fortune," she spoke with tint of guilt in her voice.

"I wanted to treat my girl to a special night out, I already told you how I felt. I'm going to be the man you deserve, Chidori." Before she could retort the waiter came and spent several minutes translating the Italian to Japanese so they could finally place their order. It caused a heavy silence to hang between them.

Eventually food was delivered and amicable chatter resumed. He made her laugh with his outlandish stories of the trouble he's gotten into before they met while she enchanted him with the tales of childhood. Tenga took great delight in watching the lights dance in her eyes as she grew elated while speaking. Everything about her dazzled him; everyday he got to spend with her was a cherished gift.

They had finished eating their meal and while waiting for the check to be delivered he reached his hand across the table and gently laid it atop hers, a simple touch that still made his heart skip a beat. She didn't miss a bit in her speaking, but he did notice she would idly run her thumb over his own.

Holding hands so far was as far as they'd gotten in their touches, and despite the type of person you would think Tenga was he was content to keep things at this slow pace. Whenever she clasped her fingers between his it sent electricity through his bones. If they kissed, he might just explode on the spot.

"Your check, sir." When the waiter arrived it shattered his reverie and hurriedly he pulled his hand back to begin searching for his wallet. Once all was said and done the meal almost cost 7,000 yen and when he peered into his wallet he had a single 1,000 yen bill left over.

"Tch, dammit," he cursed under his breath.

"Tenga? What's wrong?" Her voice was filled with concern as she stood up from the table.

His expression was sour as he walked around her and lead her outside so he could explain away from the other patrons. It was embarrassing enough without all those rich snobs scrutinizing him.

"I don't have enough money for a cab back to your place," he finally admitted.

"Is that all? It's not a big deal, I promise. Look it's even nice outside-,"

"What a joke, right? Local delinquent dresses up and pretends to have class for an evening but only ends up embarrassing himself." He began walking down the sidewalk with his fists shoved into his pockets leaving Chidori to stand dumbfounded at his outburst.

"Tenga where's this com-," but she still couldn't manage to get his attention.

"I should know better than to pretend to be something that I'm not, a thug that no girl wants to take home to her parents," he continued to talk openly to the night sky having headed in a direction away from everyone else.

"JUST HOLD ON ONE MINUTE."

He turned on his heels and looked down to see an enraged Chidori that was staring him down like a predator to a mouse. Quickly her two hands reached up to grab the sides of his face and pull him down so that he was eye level with her.

"I've had just about enough out of you. Yes, you're a muscle-headed punk with a big mouth and too eager to get into fights," his eyes turned down at that, "but don't think for a second that any of that affects my opinion of you. You're still the same Tenga that has always been there for me when no one else was, the one who makes me laugh like a little kid again. You don't have to go out of your way to impress me, I just want you to continue being yourself, okay?"

"Y-yeah," he mumbled.

"Now like a gentleman you're going to offer your lady your arm and escort her back to her home," she commanded after letting go of his face.

Tenga chuckled to himself, only Chidori could make him realize how much of a fool he was being and look so cute all the while.

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Like nothing had even occurred prior the pair enjoyed each other's company the entire hour it took to walk back. As the sun had set the cool fall air caused their already close embrace to be even closer. Tenga's heart was racing the entire time, and through his arm he could feel Chidori's was beating just as fast.

While she unlocked her door he prepared himself to miss her when until he saw her again Monday, despite how awry this evening had went he didn't want it to end.

"I had a really nice time tonight, mishaps and all," she said to tease him. It was probably something she'd hold over him for a while.

"Sorry about losing my cool, I won't forget what you told me. Though if I mess up again I'm depending on you to reprimand me," he spoke with a wink.

"Goodnight Chidori," he finally said.

Before he could turn to walk away Chidori spun around got on her tippy toes with hands lightly resting on his chest to press a small kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight Tenga." Before he even could process what happened she was already gone behind the door.

His hand grazed the cheek where her lips just touched and as a result his face broke out in a stupid wide grin. He looked to the left, then to the right and when he saw he was alone he fist pumped the air before walking down the hallway with a swagger in his step.

As it happened Chidori giggled from watching him through her door's peephole.


	3. First Worries

" _Meet me behind the gym after school. Don't be a pussy, you better come alone." - Mega Flex_

Tenga crumpled the note he'd found in his locker that morning and tossed it in the nearby waste bin. It was inevitable that this day was coming, but he had never looked forward to its arrival. He stared in disdain at the crumpled ball of paper before turning away and heading to class.

"Tenga, that wouldn't be a _loooove_ letter now would it? The girls are just after you left and right these days," teased a voice right behind his ear.

"Buzz off Yoshiharu, not in the mood for your weird ass today," snarled Tenga. Of all the people to see him get a letter it had to be this guy. At least it was better than Chidori.

"Oh but Tenga, it's always in the mood for you," Yoshiharu replied with a wink.

"Please stop." His patience was non-existent, and Yoshiharu was beginning to get the hint.

"You're no fun this morning, maybe I should your girlfriend what's biting you in the ass-," and as he wished Tenga pushed him forcefully against the locker only to wind up eliciting a moan of pleasure from him.

"Don't you dare breathe a word of anything about this to her, you hear me?" He put his balled fist up to his chin, but Yoshiharu's eyes were already glazed over.

"Treat me like this more often and I'll do anything you say." He loved antagonizing Tenga, it usually got him results just like this.

"Tch, whatever, at least as my friend would you not?" Tenga attempted to have a sincere expression while he watched the other ponder over the thought in his head.

"I suppose I can do that, you just have to promise to explain it to me later what's going on. Can you do that for me?" Tenga nodded reluctantly, and that appeared to pacify Yoshiharu as he conceded to blow a kiss at him and walk away.

" _There's a good guy in there, he's just covered in too many layers of creepy to get to it."_

* * *

He managed to feign his way through the day like it was a normal school day: sleep through morning classes, eat lunch with his friends, and struggle to pay attention in the afternoon classes. Before the last bell of the day rang, he slipped out to go to the bathroom so his friends wouldn't see where he went.

Tenga arrived behind the gym right at the appointed, but he found that no one else was there. The guy who left him the letter was known for not being punctual by any means, but were expectations really that high when the name he picked for himself was "Mega Flex"?

"Glad to see you show up, guess you're not a complete chicken shit like I thought." The voice that approached him was deep and slow, a very distinct one that only belonged to one guy he knew.

"Shut up Yoshiro, what do you want anyway?" Tenga didn't even offer his full attention, still staring out in front of him as he leaned against the wall.

"Word 'round the street is Mad Dog stepped down from being the boss of the east side. Us boys always looked up you's ya know?" He crooned through his thick accent as he slowly walked until he was standing in front of Tenga.

"I ain't done nothin', just because I'm not there to bail your asses out every time you get into trouble doesn't mean I'm not still top dog," he retorted sharply.

"Other word going 'round is that Mad Dog lost his fangs and rolls over for some cute skirt he's fond of, is that right Tenga?" Yoshiro aggressively poked his index finger into Tenga's chest to emphasize his words.

"I think you need to double check your sources, my fangs are still sharp and they ain't afraid to bite your goddamned face off," he snarled as he grabbed at his hand and pulled the finger back into an uncomfortable position before letting go.

Yoshiro shook off his hand while hissing in pain, and after he'd done so he snapped his fingers. Two other boys rounded the corner and Tenga instantly recognized them as the two punks he couldn't seem to escape no matter what he did, the very same bullies that he protected Agata from.

"Yeah Flex, Mad Dog is dating Takashiro now, he's not got the time of day for you anymore. It's made him go soft, too soft to be the boss anymore," the chided towards Tenga.

"If all you're here to do is make fun of me you're wasting your time, I'm out of here." Tenga moved to leave but he was interrupted by the two punks grabbing both of his arms and pulling him around to face Yoshiro.

"I ain't done talkin' to you bro, but really you aren't my bro anymore are you? Bros don't leave each other for some girl. I'm gonna be the alpha of the pack now, once I beat the shit out of you no one will dispute me." Yoshiro's eyes went wide and it actually gave Tenga a small chill up his spine. He did at one point consider him a friend, but those days were long gone.

"By being a coward and having your lackeys hold me back? Yeah, real tough Yoshiro," he replied in fury.

"You won't trick me into letting you off, now let's shut up that pretty little mouth of yours." As he spoke he wound up a punch and collided it right on Tenga's jaw.

Unable to move his arms he was forced to endure the blows Yoshiro was dealing to his body which first started with his face. Eventually he moved down to his chest and finally his stomach, and all the while Tenga winced in pain but showed the agony on his face.

"Tenga?! What are you doing to him?!" Through the haze of pain and swelling of his face he could still hear his favorite voice shouting at the boys. What he didn't expect was to see her charge forward and attempt to push Yoshiro off of him.

"Is this your girl Tenga? She's a cute little thing huh?" Yoshiro grasped at her chin and held her face up to look at him while her arms wailed at him.

"Get….your fil..thy hands off 'a her," Tenga struggled to say.

"What's that?" As he asked his other hand went to run up her thigh as well as her side. "I bet you ain't even done this much you balless coward. She needs to spend time with a man like me, someone that can show her what a real man's like," at this statement Tenga was seething with rage while blood seeped from his mouth.

Through this adrenaline rush he slammed his elbows back against the wall, enough to wind the two punks and get them to let him go as they fell to the ground gasping for air. Before Yoshiro could bat an eye Tenga had charged him and tackled him to the ground. They struggled for a moment before Tenga managed to position himself sitting on top of his chest.

Then came the first blow, the second, and then the third. His knuckles burned with bruising but he didn't care, this piece of filth dared to touch Chidori and he deserved as much as possible for the offense.

"Don't you ever, EVER, lay your disgusting hands on her again. In fact, don't talk to her, don't look at her, don't THINK about her. If I find out you do, I will do much worse to you than busting up your face you asshole." With that said he stood up as best he could, struggling to maneuver. Instantly Chidori was at his side to help him stand up, struggling under his dead weight.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I didn't want you to have to know about that side of me," he lamented to her.

"Stop talking, we need to get you to the nurse as quickly as possible." She hurried as quickly as she could until eventually some other students saw the two of them. One went to go tell the nurse while the other one helped her carry him back inside.

* * *

Roughly an hour later Tenga was laying in one of the medical beds covered from head to stomach in bandages and ice packs. He'd been given painkillers and they were finally starting to ease the pain enough for him to talk and move a little. The nurse however was very strict that he shouldn't move at all, and once she was done tending to him she left him to see to other students and allowed Chidori in to see him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, still very shaken over the whole ordeal.

"I'm a lot better now, even more so now that you're here with me." He flipped over his hand in a simple way of requesting her to rest hers on his. When she did he closed his eyes, the small gesture managing to relax him quite a bit.

"Why didn't you tell anybody about what was going on. Why…why didn't you tell me?" Tears began to well in her eyes while she looked at his current state.

Tenga weakly raised his other hand to rest on her cheek, offering her a small smile. Her other hand also raised up to meet his as she gently crooned into his hand.

"I like to think of it as karma. For what I did to Agata. Besides, it was my problem and I didn't want the others involved. I especially didn't want you involved," he added.

"Tenga, you take so much on by yourself, that's what friends are for. To help each other." She moved now to sit on the edge of his bed, and Tenga nudged his head in the direction implying he wanted her to lay down beside him. This wasn't normally something she would do, but in his current shape she couldn't deny him this. She still held on gently to his hand.

"It's a part of myself that I want to forget. After the Kiznaiver program I didn't want to go back to those days of being a punk that got into fights for fun. I had friends I wanted to spend time with, to protect. I had you, Chidori." His head turned to look down at her, a sadness in his eyes.

She shook her head. "It means so much to me that you want to better yourself, but let me help you. Let us help you. We all want what's best for you." She smiled kindly, hoping her words would reach him and help him understand.

"Chidori." He spoke her name with reverence.

Maybe it was the pain killers, or perhaps it was just the ambiance of the moment, whatever it was made Tenga dip his head down and press his lips on hers. It was a chaste kiss, no movement as the touch between the two lingered. Slowly he moved back to see her Chidori's cheeks were completely read.

"S-sorry, I shouldn't have done that without asking," he spoke in embarrasment.

She shook her head. "No, I'm wanted you to do that for a while now."

He grinned, and just when he was about to lean in again…

"I come here because I hear Tenga got hurt pretty badly and it's just you two making out? I should have seen _that_ one coming," teased Yuta as he stood at the foot of his bed.

"Y-Yuta?" Chidori immediately shifted up in a sitting position while Tenga swore under his breath.

"Hisomu tooooo! The others are still on their way, everybody dropped what they were doing the moment they heard. This is why you shouldn't keep secrets Tenga, if you told me I could have taken the beating for you," he teased.

"Hisomu's the one who told me I should look for you after school, if it wasn't for him who knows where you'd be right now," Chidori confessed.

"It pains me to say this, but thanks Yoshiharu. For having a big mouth."

"It's all out of love, darling. Now Yuta, shouldn't we leave these two lovebirds alone? I get the feeling we were interrupting something _very_ interesting," he spoke as he grasped Yuta's arm and started leading him out of the room.

"I'm going to kill him one of these days, I really-," but before he could finish his statement she kissed him once again.

"No more talking. Please rest. I'll be right here." As she said that she laid back down beside him and closed her eyes as she curled up closer.

As fast as his heart was racing, he eventually managed to relax enough and join her in slumber, just in time for the rest of their friends to come by and giggle while taking pictures for future teasing.


	4. First Heart-to-Heart

Let it be known before anyone hears Chidori's complaints that she did for a fact enjoy affection and attention even in large quantities. His calloused fingers that grazed her skin sent electric pulses through her body and where his lips touched it left fire in its wake. It was all so overwhelming, in fact, that it terrified her to her core.

Perhaps, however, she was getting a bit ahead of herself.

While Tenga was on suspension for getting into a fight as well as healing from his injuries Chidori visited him everyday after school as well as the weekend to give him assignments he missed, make sure he was eating properly, and also changing his bandages he couldn't reach. When she arrived she would kiss him and the same was true for when she left. It felt natural after taking that step in their relationship, and she enjoyed it just as much as he did.

While he would eat he wanted her to sit close to him to ensure in some way their bodies were touching. When re-bandaging him a hand was always on her arm or at the small of her back, almost as if he was terrified she would disappear at a moment's notice if he wasn't touching her and making certain she was real. She'd never in her life felt so treasured, and she loved every minute of it.

Her issues with it though began two weeks later. Tenga was off suspension and for the most part he'd healed, enough to take care of himself anyway. When that happened they fell back into their old routine and spending time together after school, but things were different now. They were different now.

It was the first time he'd ever asked to come into her apartment and stay for a little while, and that also seemed like natural progression to her. Once the door closed he moved to sit on her couch and waited patiently for her to put her things away before joining him. She went to sit down next to him, but it seemed it wasn't close enough as he patted for her to scoot closer. Chidori moved until they were barely touching leg to leg and she looked up into his eyes. They had grown softer, more gentle compared to the intensity he normally held.

His hand raised to her cheek and he brushed some hair from her face with the back of his fingers before cupping her cheek in his hand that engulfed the side of her face. Then he kissed her, soft and sweet just like all their other kisses. This one, however, lingered for longer than normal.

When he pulled away she was going to ask him if he would like to watch TV with her or what he'd like to do, but instead he moved to kiss her cheek, then to her jawline, then the junction of her shoulder and neck where he lingered again.

"T-Tenga?" Her voice grew nervous, unaccustomed to him taking so much action without speaking a word to her.

"I'd always imagined your skin was soft, but there is no way I could have known it was this nice." He whispered the words into her ear before kissing her lobe then nipping at the sensitive skin.

"W-w-w-what are you d-d-doing?" Her hands pressed against his shoulders softly, and this caused him to let up and lean back but enough to leave a tiny gap between the ends of their noses.

"I've been laid up as an invalid for the past two weeks unable to get you off my mind. All the things I've thought about….I'm just trying to make up for lost time." With that said he moved back in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Why? Am I doing something wrong?" With this question he pulled back again, a frightened hint to his voice.

Before thinking straight she had to move back to put a little more space between them, her legs pulling up until she rested her chin on her knees and wrapped her arms around her shins. Tenga didn't move from his spot, nor did he protest her shift in position.

"It's not that you're doing anything wrong, it's just," she paused to take a deep breath, "things are moving so fast. I just feel dizzy."

Tenga looked puzzled and like he so badly wanted to fix whatever was wrong but he just didn't understand what the problem was to begin with. "Is there something you'd like to me to do differently?"

She relinquished the tight hold on her legs and allowed them to extend a bit further. "That's the thing, I," she stopped, too embarrassed to say what was on her mind.

"You…?" Tenga leaned down to look up at her face that had dipped down to hide.

"I like kissing you. A lot, in fact." She could feel her face beginning to boil, but Tenga never reacted. He just wanted to hear what she had to say.

"I like it so much, in fact, that I'm scared of moving so fast I won't know how to stop," she finally admitted. "I don't think I'm ready for anything past kissing, but when I'm with you it's hard to think with my head."

"Chidori." He spoke her name with reverence as he leaned back up, waiting for her to do the same. "You know you can always tell me anything, right? Even if you told me to get up and leave right now I would, because I don't want you to ever feel scared of me."

"I'm not scared of you!" She spoke with more volume in her voice than she expected. "I'm more scared of myself because this is all new for me. You're the first b-boyfriend I've ever had, and my first kiss." Tenga smirked as she stuttered over a word he rarely heard her say, but it made his heart flutter every time she did.

"Would you like to know a secret? You have to keep it between us of course," he offered with a childlike joy in his eyes. Chidori nodded and he moved to lightly lay his hands over hers. "This is all new to me too. You're my first girlfriend, and I don't want to do anything to ruin what's between us."

"You neglected the first kiss part," she retorted.

"A boy doesn't kiss and tell, you know that." Tenga laughed as she picked up a pillow and threw it at him. Seeing his disheveled glasses on his face caused her to erupt in a fit of giggles as well. Tenga then took them off and sat them on the table in front of the couch and lunged forward to dig his fingers into her side.

Instantly she twisted to pull back from him, tears now pooling in her eyes from laughing so hard. He was relentless, all up until she managed to get her hand under his arms and made him roughly jerk back with his own fits of laughter.

Eventually the tickle fight concluded with Tenga lying on his back on the floor and Chidori lying on top of him. They were both panting, their fight ending in a draw as they both lacked the energy to continue.

"I want you to always tell me if I do too much, okay?" He asked while looking down at her head resting on his chest.

She gently nodded in response. "Maybe it's weird for a girl to say this, but you can tell me too."

He shook his head. "No, it's not weird, I appreciate that a lot." He sounded oddly serious, but she didn't think much of it so she let it go.

They stayed like that for several minutes, neither one wanting to move from where they lay. Eventually she moved to get up and Tenga audibly groaned when he felt her leave him. Once she stood up she offered him her hand and he joined her standing up.

"My parents will probably be soon, I really don't want to have to explain that to them," she explained.

Tenga scratched the back of his neck. "You've got a point, I think I would enjoy that even less. I should probably get going then." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head before picking up his things to leave.

"E-mail me when you get home, okay?" Chidori gently reminded as she walked him to the door.

"Of course, just don't fall asleep when I do so I have to worry for an hour," he teased her with a pat on the top of her head.

"Deal."

She hated parting from him when they had moments like they just had before, saying farewell was getting more and more difficult with each passing day. That's why loved it when he would e-mail her till she fell asleep, just chatting about nonsense for hours.

Chidori didn't know what she did to deserve a boyfriend like him.


	5. First Heartache

With time eventually Summer finally came to an end and with it arrived the crisp cool air of Autumn. Each day the trees grew bare while the people brought out their jackets and scarves to brace the drop in temperature. Some would call it a cozy time of the year, the temperature motivating couples to embrace one another for warmth and comfort.

Tenga was more than excited at the prospect, but more than anything he was ecstatic for an upcoming holiday that he'd never truly experienced the way it was best enjoyed. Christmas wasn't a holiday he'd enjoyed since he was a young boy and he spent it with his parents, specifically his mother. As years passed the luster faded as well as his attachment to those long gone memories. He was eager to create new ones with someone he loved very much, someone he dearly hoped felt the same way about him.

It was only November now but his planning had already begun back in October once they had both celebrated each other's birthdays, which was one of his best birthdays he'd ever experienced in his young life. He'd already made reservations for Christmas Eve at a more appropriately priced restaurant, but still to this day he agonized over his ideas for a present for her. Tenga didn't let it bother him too much, worrying over that would make him neglect to enjoy the present and he would despise doing that. After recently getting a 'now' to be happy about he didn't want to miss it for a minute.

Speaking of now, class was over and it was time to be pulled from his reverie to leave for the day. He walked through the hallway as one by one one of his friends would join the crowd making their way towards the entrance. Tenga joked around with Hisomu and Yuta as he told a particularly nasty joke about Yamada-sensei. Eventually Nico joined in with her usual bubbly stories and Maki effortlessly pulled Yuta's attention away from the two "pests" that flocked to his side.

Much to Tenga's displeasure a few familiar faces were missing, but he didn't allow this to give him concern. He'd probably just forgotten that they'd had cleaning duty today, that was all. There was no way it was more than coincidence that Chidori, Agata, and Sonozaki were all missing together from what had become their daily routine.

Using both hands he smacked his cheeks to pull himself from these thoughts. This action however didn't go unnoticed by one of his friends as he heard a concerned feminine voice call for him.

"Tenga? Are you okay? Nico is confused why you would be hitting yourself, that's a very Hisomu thing to do. Not a Tenga thing to do." She looked up at him with her head cocked to the side and he stopped immediately as he went silent unable to explain his crazed rationale.

"Oh! Let me guess, let me guess. You're… seeing if you're in a dream! They always say to pinch yourself to see if a dream is real. Did it hurt, or is this actually Tenga's dream? Is Nico in Tenga's dreams without realizing it?" This question caused her to blush a little bit and her head turned to stare at her feet.

Tenga put up his hands in a defensive and waved them to dismiss her theory. "No, no, it's not a dream I'm wondering about. I was just...hitting myself when I realized how foolish I was. I got worried about our friends when I should have realized they just had cleaning duty. Normally I remember those kinds of things, it's kind of stupid now that I'm saying it out loud," he finished with a nervous crack in his voice.

Nico's brows furrowed in thought. "Nori went to visit her and Katsuhira's old friends, Nico asked her if she wanted to hang out after school since Nico still wants to be friends with Nori. Chidori left earlier with Katsuhira when he got sick," Nico giggled, "Tenga doesn't remember because Tenga was sleeping in class again."

Tenga's face bloomed into a bright red blush and his head jerked to the side. "So she went home with Katsuhira because he was sick, that makes sense. Thanks Nico, I'll go check on him then." As he said this his face took on a dour expression as he resumed walking to the end of the hallway to his locker.

"Nico will go too! Nico's worried about him, he didn't look so good when he left. Now Tenga is starting to look the same way and Nico is worried he might be catching it too!" Nico followed along beside him, her whimsy covering the serious concern deep down.

With each footstep take his heart sank down deeper into his stomach and nothing he did could make it stop.

* * *

Tenga side-eyed Nico as they walked down the sidewalk towards the apartment complex. Being alone with Nico didn't happen very often, and when it did it was very brief. They sort of laid their conflict to rest with Tenga telling Nico he only liked her as a friend. She was obviously upset, not as devastated as that one night during Summer but she was obviously hurt. A couple of weeks of her ignoring him and they went back to the way they were before everyone's emotions all got tangled up in each other.

It still felt awkward, for him at least, knowing how she felt about him all the while. He imagined a world where Chidori turned him down and he had to go about his days being around her while keeping her at a distance at all times. He'd felt disappointed just today not getting to see her, he didn't want to fathom a world like that.

They walked side by side in amicable silence, Tenga unable to untie the knot in his stomach and Nico was humming a song while skipping down the sidewalk. He caught the eyes of the two punks from before walking on the other side of the sidewalk. They pretended not to notice him as Tenga shot daggers their way, pantomiming a punch into his own fist. Their eyes went wide before scurrying away in fear. Tenga just chuckled menacingly.

* * *

His balled up fist hung in the air in front of the door, that same knot in his stomach pulled tight preventing him from simply knocking on the door. He couldn't explain it, this overwhelming fear in his gut that consumed him. Nico looked up at him with worry in her eyes then proceeded to knock instead.

Several moments passed without a single sound. Tenga almost got completely discouraged and turned to leave but Nico staying rooted to the spot kept him there as well. Finally he heard the sound of the door unlocking and opening.

Chidori answered the door and looked out at them with strained eyes. First her eyes went to Tenga and she offered a small smile, and she did the same as noticed Nico was there as well. She looked disheveled which was very unlike her usual self. He couldn't recall a time she looked to be in such a state.

Tenga stepped forward and pulled her into a hug with a kiss to her forehead. Her arms went up around him but there was no energy behind the embrace, as if her mind was somewhere else entirely.

"How is he? I heard about what happened today." He finally asked after separating from her. Her eyes darted downwards as she solemnly sighed.

"Kacchon and No- Sonozaki had a fight. He only just got his ability to feel a few months ago, and this has been more devastating to him because of it. I'm not even sure what they fought about, he won't tell me," she spoke in dire tones.

Tenga's brow furrowed while listening to her explanation. Chidori and him had argued multiple times before and after getting together and he just couldn't understand how it could ever get so bad to make someone sick.

"Poor Katsuhiro. And they're still Kiznas, so Nori must be feeling his pain too," Nico sympathized. Chidori's expression wasn't as empathetic.

"Well if she's feeling his pain and knowing how hurt he is then she's just a terrible person to let Kacchon suffer like this. It makes me sick," she forced through gritted teeth.

"Chidori…," Tenga's hand went up to comfort her but he retracted it instead. He had no idea what to say.

"Can we come in to see him? Maybe we can help cheer him up!". Nico offered with a jovial smile.

Chidori only shook her. "He said he just wants to be alone, it took a lot of convincing to get him to let me stay. I'm sorry.". As she apologized she looked up to Tenga to ensure he knew how true her words were.

"I understand, you two are close so if anyone can help him it'll be you. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Tenga's eyes were full of anticipation, craving her affirmation.

Chidori only nodded and returned behind the closed door.

* * *

For a time normality did resume, or at least it appeared to on the surface. Katsuhira continued to miss school, and as the days of his absence increased so did the concerns of his friends. No one knew how to bring it up when they were together, as Chidori would solemnly sigh as her mind left the conversation to protect herself. Noriko stopped spending time with them, electing instead to isolate herself from everyone.

Their friendship hadn't felt this broken up since the summer fight, but even in this situation it was completely different. No one was angry, or dealing with buried emotions. Everyone was lost as to how to help amend the situation when half of their group was feeling lost.

As the days passed Tenga became quieter and more downtrodden. The fire in his spirit was diminished as he felt useless to help anyone including himself. His jealousy of Katsuhira consuming Chidori's time was rampantly consuming his mind and because of that he was also filled with guilt. He trusted Chidori, he really did, but he could only imagine how Chidori felt getting to feel close to Katsuhira again while he was healing. It stung to feel replaced after they'd progressed so far in their relationship and it wasn't a force he could defeat.

Nico took it upon herself to make sure Tenga felt cared about, spending time with him as much as she could. It was painful at first, to be so close to him and still so far, but she was honored still to have the relationship with him that she did. Deep down Tenga acknowledged her kindness and he struggled to open himself up to her.

Luckily he didn't need to, she knew that he needed something to take his mind off his turmoil and Nico was great amusing her friends. Nico couldn't deny that deep in her heart she considered the unthinkable. Her heart cried for Chidori to just break up with Tenga so she could pick up the broken pieces and help repair him. That one day he would grow to love her the way he loved Chidori. Every time the thought came to her mind she felt ill, that she could want something so horrible to happen to people she called friends.

The dissonance in their circle of friends caused her great anxiety, she had trouble sleeping at night as she tried to fight the sadness. The sadness of knowing what could be, of getting her hopes up all over again. Nico had had enough, and since it looked like nobody was going to try and set things right she would just have to.

* * *

Nico couldn't tell you where she gathered the courage to do what she was about to do. Perhaps it was Hisomu who she'd confided in the day before that she was considering telling what was on her mind. He offered to accompany her but she declined, it was something she felt appropriate that she do on her own. It was a conversation for rivals, though Nico had long since lost the battle. Hisomu hugged her tight before she left, that single embrace telling her everything she needed to be brave.

Which led to her here in front of Katsuhira's door a couple of hours after school. Tenga had went home with that same pain in his eyes and said a word to no one. Chidori did much the same, they were both hurting but couldn't fathom how to heal each other. Nico wasn't certain either, but what she was certain of was that it needed to begin with Chidori. So she knocked on the door and waited in agony for her to answer the door.

The door opened cautiously, and she was startled to see who it was that opened the door.

"Nico? What brings you here?" Katsuhira questioned with curious eyes. He looked like someone who hadn't slept well in days, but otherwise he wasn't beyond speaking like Nico imagined him to be.

"Nico came to find Chidori, I have some things I wanted to tell her. Is she here?" She questioned while peering over Katsuhira's shoulder to look inside.

"No, I haven't seen Chidori in a couple of days actually. Being alone that long gave me time to think about things. I'm actually planning on coming back to school next week. I need to apologize to Nori for everything," he explained while his eyes glanced down.

"Nico is very happy to hear Katsuhira and Nori will talk again, everything's been so sad lately that Nico has almost went crazy!" She exasperated as the corners of her eyes teared up.

"I'm sorry Nico, this is all my fault. I'm the one that hurt Nori and I just ran away from those feelings I'd never had before. I caused Chidori to get hurt again, I promised to never hurt her like that ever again." As he lamented he cradled his forehead in his palms.

"Wh-what exactly happened between you two?"

Katsuhira took a deep breath before he continued. "Nori asked me how I felt about how our relationship was going, if we were connecting the way we both wanted. She asked if I felt true love for her. I told her I was uncertain, but I never meant for it to hurt her. The pain I felt from our Kizna bond was immense so much so I felt sick. She didn't even bat an eye, having felt all of our old Kiznas pain for years. I- I was terrified by what I felt so I ran away, and I've never been able to explain to her what I meant. Through that simple act I've caused others so much pain, and I've only thought about myself. I've been a bad friend to everyone," he finished with a dark chuckle.

Nico lurched forward immediately and wrapped her arms around Katsuhira. His eyes widened in surprise but eventually he slowly returned the hug in kind.

"Nico doesn't think Katsuhira is a bad friend, Nico thinks everyone needs to stop hiding their emotions. Everyone just wants to help each other! That's what friends do. Please don't hide your feelings from us, together we're so much stronger than by ourselves," Nico spoke while still clinging to Katsuhira.

He smiled weakly and patted her back before they separated. "Is it okay if I ask for a favor then, Nico?"

Nico looked up but she did not speak, only nodding her head.

"Could you help Chidori come out of her darkness? I can't get her to talk to me about it, and you're one of the easiest people I know to talk to."

Nico nodded and Katsuhira smiled. "Thanks," he replied.

After Katsuhira closed his door Nico turned to her left and marched in front of Chidori's door, took a deep breath, and then knocked on the door.


	6. First Reconciliation

"Kacchon I already told you, I just want to be al- Nico, it's you," Chidori finished dumbfounded. Instinctively she stepped back in embarrassment for having shouted so loudly.

"Chidori, is it okay if Nico comes in to talk?" Nico peered up at Chidori with an intense gaze, one that wasn't to be refuted or denied.

"Well Nico I really wasn't prepared to have any guests over today, my room's a mess-," Chidori cut herself off as she stepped quickly to the side. Nico had stepped forward and pushed past her to enter the apartment. A very tidy apartment she noted.

"Nico- I have some important things to talk about with you, Chidori. And since we're friends, I want Chidori to talk to me too." Nico reached out her hand to grab Chidori's and tugged at her hand so that they could sit on the couch together.

"You've been so sad and Nico wants to know how we can all go back to being happy friends together. We all thought you were helping Katsuhira, but you're not you're just hiding in your room while everyone is trying to pretend like nothing is wrong. Why is Chidori hiding from her friends, and why is she hiding from Tenga?" Nico's voice cracked on the last question, but her stare remained intense. It couldn't be described as intimidating, but Chidori certainly felt unsettled.

"I...I…," Chidori took a deep breathe as she settled her skyrocketing nerves. "I'm...afraid to. I'm terrified right now." Once she spoke the words her shoulders slumped and she rested her face in her hands out of distress.

"I don't understand, why are you terrified? We overcame so much together this summer! It makes Nico sad to hear Chidori is scared of her," she whispered as she felt a twinge in her chest.

"It's not...everyone else I'm scared of. I'm scared of admitting my thoughts, I'm scared of hurting someone that means so much to me." As she continued Chidori's eyelids began to pool with tears. Idly she made attempts to wipe them away but she couldn't prevent the droplets that escaped. Eventually she let them flow freely.

"You and Katsuhira didn't, well, you know…?" Nico peered through slitted eyes, the answer this question would be the deciding factor of how the rest of this talk was going to go.

"What? Oh, no, no, _no_. I don't mean like that. I just, I just,-" Nico rested her hand on Chidori's shoulder and looked up to give her a sympathetic nod.

"It's okay Chidori, Nico just wants to hear the truth in your heart. Nico isn't here to be get mad. Promise!" She hid the pain behind her sweet smile, pushing her true feelings down further and further with each passing moment.

"When Kacchon told me about falling out with Sonozaki I was so...happy. I know that's wrong of me to say, but I was. I thought we could have the relationship we used to have, that he could depend on me again. That maybe- maybe he would finally return my feelings now that so much has changed." She explained as her eyes pointed to the ground, pain and guilt riddling every word spouting from her lips.

"Then I realized what I was doing and I felt so sick, because I knew what I was doing was betraying Tenga. I was starting to truly have feelings for him and thought maybe one day they would overtake the ones I have for Kacchon, but now look at me. I've ruined that all by taking his feelings and stomping on them." Her voice escalated as she continuously grew furious with her own actions.

"I know you've been there for him lately, how could I not notice? And I was so jealous, but what right do I have to be jealous when I've been doing the same thing but _even worse_. I'm a terrible girlfriend and I don't deserve him, and my head tells me I should break it off so I can stop tormenting him." As she spoke her hand rose to clutch at the front of her shirt over her chest. "But my heart- my heart can't stand the idea of letting him go."

Finally she erupted into a cacophony of cries and sobs, all the while Nico kindly rubbed her back in small circles as an offering of comfort. Tears began to form in her own eyes, both out of sympathy as well as her own feelings that were tied up in this.

"Here I am, telling this all to you, the person that I know would treat him better than this. And you're comforting _me_ of all people!" She finished with a shout as she turned to Nico, eyes bloodshot and blazing with hysteria. Nico flinched back at first but also balled her fist in reproach.

"Y-you're right! I would never, not even on my worst day, ever make him feel terrible like this. Do you know why that is? _He doesn't love me, and he's never going to,"_ she retorted as furious tears flew from her eyes.

"More than anything I want to tell you that you should break up with him, but what's the point in that? He'd always look past me because all he could think about is you. Would that make you happy? Obviously you love him and he loves you, I don't...Nico doesn't have any place in this picture!" Nico suddenly stood up and stared down at Chidori, her fists held tightly at her side as hot tears streamed down her face.

She wanted nothing more than to tell her off, to let Nico have the one she loved instead. Unfortunately something like that could never be, she didn't want someone that didn't want her most of all. There was only thing for her to do in this situation, her own emotions be damned.

"Chidori, you need to get up," Nico struggled to speak.

"W-what do you mean?" Chidori did as she instructed regardless, fear obvious in her eyes.

"You need to find Tenga now and tell him what you told me. Stop letting this eat you alive, stop letting it torment him. If you really love each other you can be honest and work through this! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me. More than anything, Nico just wants her friends back," she finished as her voice softened to an almost whisper.

Chidori lurched forward and pulled Nico into a tight hug as they both clung to each other, tears still being shed but the remains of their friendship began mending together piece by piece. They would overcome this. _She_ would overcome this.

* * *

Continuously his phone buzzed on the table near him, but he couldn't fathom the energy to answer it. His uncle hadn't been home in weeks nor had he heard from him in that time, if he was calling him what would Tenga care? The boy's heart was being torn asunder even this very moment, watching the threads of a relationship he'd worked so hard to develop just unravel before his eyes. The rest of the world could light ablaze and crumble to ash, as an eighteen year old boy this _was_ his world.

He rolled over on the couch and curled against the back, his chest stinging from the raw emotions running rampant in his mind. Tenga knew he needed to gather courage to talk to Chidori, to ask her where they stood now. That courage he held that day to ask her to reject him outright, where was it now? He was too invested in this girl who made him want to be a better person, to reject that part of him he was never able to escape before. To ask her now would force the ultimatum, but to continue hiding would prolong an answer that could destroy his being.

His fist pounded into the cushion of the couch, his teeth clenched and brows furrowed. Tenga despised emotions, they'd never gotten him anywhere. They didn't bring his parents back, they didn't make his family care about him, and they weren't going to make Chidori love him. The only thing that saved him was being strong. If he was stronger than all the other guys in the the neighborhood, then he was safe. Now was a time he needed to be strong, but emotionally he had always been very frail. That was his mistake for trying to give his heart away again.

 _Knock knock knock!_

The sound of someone beating on his door shattered his reverie. Tenga fumbled off the couch and hurriedly stood up while squinting, his glasses having been knocked off the table in his haste. Not that it really mattered, he just needed to tell whoever it was to fuck off.

Having no use in looking through the peephole he opened the door wide and glanced around trying to find the source of the knocks. He looked down to see a reddish blob standing before him.

"I don't know whatchu want, or what yer sellin' but you can just take it and turn 'round right here," he seethed as his eyes attempted to focus on the vibrant color of red. Normally his vision wasn't so poor, but he may or may not have knocked back a few of the beers in the fridge earlier to try and clear his head.

Chidori instinctively took a step back, not at all accustomed to the way Tenga was speaking or looking at her right now. She realized this was what she'd done to him, she'd hurt him so badly he was reverting to the person he was before they met. A neighborhood thug who only thought with his fists.

"Tenga, it's me," she spoke gently, hands kept close to her body for fear he might react badly if she touched him right now.

"Why d'you know my na-a-a-me- Chidori?! Chidori, is that you?" He stammered as he pulled up into a stiffer position but his eyes still looked confused and weary. By reflex his hand reached up to reach out to her face, to feel her skin beneath his fingers once more. Though as if bitten, he retracted the hand and instead rubbed the back of his head.

"Tenga, we need to talk," she told him flatly. Her hands clenched the straps of the bag thrown over her shoulders, fear gnawing the back of her mind.

He only nodded while dumbfounded as he stepped back and left enough room for her to step around him. Nervously he looked down at his current sloppy attire of an old wife beater and baggy sweats, suddenly filled with shame at his appearance.

As Chidori walked deeper into the room she did her best to ignore the obvious signs that cleanliness was not a high priority in this home. Empty bottles and boxes littered every surface and dirty laundry draped all about. She could ask about these circumstances later, that wasn't what was important right now. She turned about and gently sat down on the farthest end of the couch then turned her head to him but didn't look him in the eyes.

"Sit. I have something I need to tell," she spoke raggedly. It was evident she was holding back tears.

Quietly he did as he was told, sitting himself down at the end of the couch opposite her. Only a mere few feet apart he'd never felt so separated from her, as if a great chasm had split the earth and prevented them returning to each other's side. However, that wasn't case; she was within arm's reach but out of his grasp.

She shifted with unease and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Tenga crossed his arms over his chest and started tapping his foot on the ground in his own nervous habit. While waiting for her to speak his eyes did attempt to scour the room to detect the lime green color of his glasses but it wasn't to be found, at least not with his vision in the state it was.

Chidori's eyes also glanced from side to side as she sought the words that would fix this whole situation, but instead of that she just caught notice of his phone sitting on the table. "Sorry I barged in without warning, I was trying to call you earlier to tell you but I figured you'd lost your phone again. I...guess you were just ignoring me, I don't blame you." She spoke while wearing her best smile, voice cracking as she fought to overcome her emotions.

Tenga instantly shifted around to look at her, or at least look at the red of her hair because it was the only distinguishable thing he could see. "No! God, no. I would never ignore your calls. I was just...ignoring my phone completely. Honest," he pleaded finally. His eyes were puffy and red, and Chidori's heart twisted whenever he looked at her.

"It's okay Tenga, I'm not mad. You're the one that should be mad at me, I've done nothing but take you for granted and it wasn't fair. You didn't- you don't deserve that. I'm sorry, I really am." She continued feigning her smile as her eyes began to water. Quickly she wiped them away but to no avail, they still continued to shed no matter how she persisted.

"I, well, you see,-" Tenga stammered while wildly gesturing with his hands. He wanted to be strong, who comes back for a man wallowing in his weakness? His heart, however, would not permit it. Tenga's body slumped forward and his hands rested in his lap, a frown pulling the corners of his lips downward.

"What I want to say is that I never doubted you, or doubted us. That's a lie, my body has done nothing but be eaten alive by doubt. I just want you to look at me so badly, only look at me and no one else. I guess that means I'm jealous, huh? I've heard girls don't like it when their boyfriends are too possessive and I didn't want to push you away, I thought that we'd spent so much time together that you might like to see your best friend again. All the while I- I just wanted to run over and pull you back to me. I didn't want to see what we had be so easily forgotten," he finished as he stared at his hands resting on his lap. His heart was too filled with disgrace to look her way.

"I'm not going to lie to you Tenga, because that wouldn't be fair. I did find myself thinking, deep down in my heart, that I was happy to have Kacchon to myself again. I didn't want to give him back to Sonozaki. I spent so, _so_ much of my life loving him and caring for him and it's hard to just forget it all like that. But...I was the fool in the end. He never stopped talking about her, and while he did I couldn't help but think about you. That was when I realized what I was jeopardizing with my actions."

She paused, hands rubbing the sides of her arms to ground herself to this moment. Her anxiety was trying to pull apart piece by piece and send her into hysteria. Reflexively she bit the interior of her mouth and caused herself to jump she was so shaken.

"To ask you to forgive me, that's asking too much of you. But I can't let you go, you mean too much to me now. I'm just sorry it took all this for me to realize it," she finished as droplets streamed down her face.

Tenga felt his stomach begin to knot and his own eyes began to quiver. He hated crying, it only made him look like a fool. For her, he would fill the Pacific ocean with his tears just to see her smile again.

"I understand you love Agata, and it's selfish of me to ask you to suddenly stop having those feelings. I just, I just-," he paused to snort as his face started overflowing. "I just want to have a place in your heart too, and maybe, just maybe, the hope that one day I'll be able to take away all the pain. Because-," he affirmed as his fists knotted into the fabric.

" _I love you."_

A wash of silence covered the room they occupied. Chidori stopped wiping her tears and Tenga looked up at her with an overwhelming intensity. It felt like time had stopped all around them, that the universe itself was focused on them and them alone. Her chest burned and she realized she'd been holding her breath; given that realization she softly exhaled and felt the corners of her lips begin to turn upwards into a smile.

"C-Chidori? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I have no right to put that pressure on you, and it's only been a couple of months and I-."

"Tenga," she uttered the word with sweet reverence and his heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, but surely, she had started crawling her way closer to Tenga on all fours. At first Tenga didn't register what was going on but as he did his own back scooted until his spine was pressed against the arm of the couch. There was no escape.

Chidori kneeled between his widely sprawled legs and rested her hands on the arm behind his back, one arm on each side of his torso. Even in this position her head barely met his chin, but he couldn't help but feel so small and vulnerable.

"Did you really mean what you said?" Chidori inquired with a childlike grin sprawled on her face.

"Y-yeah, I did, was that okay for me t-." She interrupted him once more, but this time with her lips capturing his.

How long had it been since last he tasted the sweetness of her lipgloss? Days? Weeks? Months? From the way it caused his body to tremble from his head down to his toes he would have said it'd been a lifetime. The kiss was messy, lips didn't quite align and their noses were aching from the pressure against each cheek.

 _To them, it couldn't have been more perfect._

Once she pulled back Tenga moved forward in an attempt to chase her mouth, not pleased with the separation. The gentle touch of her hands pressed to the sides of his face brought him back to reality, and for the first time that day he could truly see her. Her ruby red eyes reflected his own amber ones, and her scarlet hair engulfed her face as it flowed freely from its normal confines. Without even thinking his hand wove itself into the sea of red strands.

"I love you too, Tenga. Or rather, I love you, _Hajime_ ," she whispered softly into the small space between them. "If you don't mind picking me up when I fall, or forgiving me when I mess up, I'd like to keep you in my heart."

His forehead pressed against hers as he enjoyed the wave of ease. He nuzzled their noses together before blinking his eyes open again. "If you keep saying my name like that, I'll walk through fire to stay at your side," he teased as the raspiness in his voice became apparent.

"Hold me Hajime, and please, never let go," she begged with dire want aching in her bones.

Chidori shifted to lean forward against his body, head resting on his shoulder and burrowed against the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her sides and nuzzled his cheek against her forehead. Periodically they would both leave kisses on the skin their mouths were pressed against, but mostly they lie still just enjoying the embrace they had needed for so long.

"I'll never let go, no matter what."


End file.
